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Thursday, August 02, 2012

Disney Channel Upfront 2012 (March 2012) Press Release

via Disney Channel press release:

The new projects announced today and upcoming programming events presented to sponsors are:DISNEY CHANNEL

“WANDER OVER YONDER” — Emmy-winning producer Craig
McCracken, among the most sought-after talent in TV animation, is the
creator/executive producer of Disney Channel’s upcoming “Wander Over
Yonder,” an animated comedy series about best friends and epic enemies,
set in surreal places across the universe. Wander is an
overly-optimistic intergalactic traveler who, along with his loyal but
bullish steed, Sylvia, goes from planet to planet helping people to live
free and have fun, all against the evil reign of Lord Hater and his
army of Watchdogs. The voice cast includes Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock,”
“Phineas and Ferb”), Keith Ferguson (“Foster’s Home for Imaginary
Friends”) and Tom Kenny (“SpongeBob SquarePants”). McCracken created the
Emmy-winning series “The Powerpuff Girls” and produced a feature film
based on it. He also created the hit series “Foster’s Home For Imaginary
Friends,” which also won him an Emmy Award. Prior to creating his own
shows, McCracken directed “Dexter’s Laboratory” and worked on a variety
of shows for Hanna-Barbera. “Wander Over Yonder” is a production of
Disney Television Animation.

“TEEN BEACH MUSICAL” — School’s out, surf’s up and
Disney Channel is taking a dip into the teen beach party movie genre
with this modern break into song and dance comedy in which surfer girl
McKenzie and her boyfriend, Brady, literally go into a classic surf
movie musical where it’s bikers versus surfers — and they’re in for
trouble if they don’t back down. While they hatch a plan to get back
home to present day, the duo try to blend in as everyone around them
spontaneously breaks into song and dance. But when they interfere with
the plot of the movie, their fate may be changed forever. It is
scheduled to premiere in summer 2013 on Disney Channel. Starring are
Ross Lynch (“Austin & Ally”), Maia Mitchell (Australia’s “Trapped,”
“Castaway”), Garrett Clayton, Grace Phipps (“The Nine Lives of Chloe
King”), John DeLuca, Chrissie Fit (“General Hospital”), Kevin Chamberlin
(“Jessie,” Broadway’s “The Addams Family”) and Steve Valentine
(“Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie,” Disney XD’s “I’m In The Band”).
The soundtrack is influenced by surf rock, Motown R&B, rockabilly
and comedic pop. “Teen Beach Musical” was written by Vince Marcello and
Mark Landry (“Zombie Prom”) and Robert Horn (“Sharpay’s Fabulous
Adventure”) and is directed by Jeffrey Hornaday (“Geek Charming,”
choreographer of “A Chorus Line,” “Flashdance”) and choreographed by
Chris Scott (“Lemonade Mouth”). David Buelow (“Bring It On: Fight to the
Finish”) is the executive producer and Robert F. Phillips (“Teen
Spirit”) is the producer. “Teen Beach Musical” is a production of
Rainforest Productions, LLC.

“GIRL VS. MONSTER” (working title) – In a Halloween
themed movie to premiere during Disney Channel’s second annual
month-long Monstober event, Olivia Holt (Disney XD’s “Kickin’ It”) stars
as 15-year-old Skylar Lewis, a savvy teenager who discovers her
family’s closely-guarded secret — she’s a fifth generation monster
hunter. But Skylar doesn’t realize there is one immortal monster,
Deimata, who wants to unravel her family’s secret. In order for Skylar
and her friends to stop Deimata and her army of monsters, they’ll need
to face their biggest fears and overcome them together. The script was
written by Annie DeYoung, Ron McGee and Geoff Rodkey. The director is
Stuart Gillard and the executive producer is Sheri Singer.

“CODE 9” – In this unscripted practical joke show
for kids and families, a hidden camera, a sense of humor and the help of
Hollywood’s top special effects artists and designers is all a family
needs to pull off a fun prank with their unsuspecting mom or dad. The
entire group works together to plan and execute the entertaining prank
with one family member going deep undercover with special prosthetic
make-up, costumes and other disguises to help pull the whole prank off.
Hosted by Wes Dening (“In the Qube”), the series is scheduled to
premiere in summer 2012. The executive producers are Mark Herwick
(“Launch My Line”), Douglas Ross, Kathleen French, Gregory Stewart and
Alex Baskin (each of “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills”). “Code 9″ is a
production of Evolution Media.

“LET IT SHINE” – The premiere of this music-filled
Disney Channel Original Movie will be presented FRIDAY, JUNE 15 (8:00
p.m., ET/PT). A modern day story inspired by the ghostwritten love
letters of Cyrano de Bergerac, the story is set in the world of hip-hop,
rap and gospel music and expresses the importance of staying true to
oneself. Starring are Tyler James Williams (“Everybody Hates Chris”),
Coco Jones (Radio Disney “N.B.T.”), Trevor Jackson, Brandon Mychal Smith
(Disney Channel’s “So Random!”), Nicole Sullivan, Courtney B. Vance and
Dawnn Lewis. It was written by Eric Daniel and Don D. Scott and
directed by Paul Hoen. The soundtrack will be released on Walt Disney
Records.

“GRAVITY FALLS” – Premiering in June, this clever,
unexpected approach to animated comedy is helmed by its creator,
executive-producer/director Alex Hirsch, a 2007 Cal Arts graduate. His
college short, “Off the Wall,” garnered attention from notable animation
blogs Drawn! and Cartoon Brew, as well as Cold Hard Flash. He
subsequently worked as a writer/storyboard artist on “The Marvelous
Misadventures of Flapjack” and developed Disney Channel’s “Fish Hooks.”
He is also the voice of Clamantha on that series. His ingenious new
series “Gravity Falls” follows twin brother and sister Dipper and Mabel,
whose summer plans are ruined when their parents ship them off to spend
the summer with their Great Uncle Stan in the very strange town of
Gravity Falls, Oregon. The voice cast is: Jason Ritter (“Parenthood”),
Kristen Schaal (“Flight of the Conchords,” “Toy Story 3″) and Alex
Hirsch. It is a production of Disney Television Animation.

“MAKE YOUR MARK” — Bigger in 2012, with new
extensions across multiple Disney platforms, the second annual “Make
Your Mark,” a talent competition especially for kids and tweens, begins
in July with user generated content on DisneyChannel.com. The
multi-platform TV, online and radio initiative culminates with a special
event telecast in October. Last year’s “Make Your Mark: ‘Shake It Up’
Edition” delivered an average of 12 million Total Viewers in two
telecasts and was #1 among Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 for both
programming nights. More than 30,000 dance videos were submitted online,
resulting in more than 42 million video starts in four months.

“GOOD LUCK CHARLIE” – The third season introduces a
joyful new story arc as the Duncans prepare for the arrival of a baby
brother or sister. The bundle of joy arrives in June 2012 during a
one-hour special episode. 25 million votes at DisneyChannel.com were
tallied worldwide to determine the baby’s name. If it’s a boy, he will
be Noah, Jonah, Toby, Bobby Jr. or Bo, and if a girl, she will be
Sydney, Erika, Mallory, Talia or Jenny. For 2011, the series ranked as
TV’s #2 series among Kids and Tweens, and the Disney Channel Original
Movie it inspired was cable TV’s #1 live-action movie of 2011 in Total
Viewers (8.3 million) and the #2 scripted telecast across all TV among
Kids 6-11 (4.0 million). Starring are Bridgit Mendler, Leigh-Allyn
Baker, Bradley Steven Perry, Mia Talerico, Eric Allan Kramer and Jason
Dolley. “Good Luck Charlie” was created by Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen
and is executive-produced by Baker, Vaupen and Dan Staley. It is from
It’s A Laugh Productions, Inc.

“SUMMER ADVENTURE WEEKEND” — In July, Disney
Channels presents its most expansive programming initiative yet, a
“Summer Adventure Weekend,” with new, vacation adventure-themed episodes
of every series on Disney Channel and Disney XD to be presented across
three days. Themed episodes of Disney Channel’s “Gravity Falls,” “Fish
Hooks,” “Jessie,” “A.N.T. Farm,” “Good Luck Charlie,” “Austin &
Ally” and “Shake It Up” will be presented on Disney Channel, and Disney
XD will feature themed episodes of “Kick Buttowski – Suburban
Daredevil,” “Lab Rats,” “Kickin’ It,” “Pair of Kings” and “Mr. Young.”
The “Summer Adventure Weekend” includes the first of an epic “PHINEAS
AND FERB” two-part episode. In the episode, entitled “Where’s Perry?,”
the Flynn-Fletchers are off on an African safari, leaving Perry at home
to deal with Doofenshmirtz and his most evil plot yet: to take over the
OWCA. But when Doofenshmirtz accidentally zaps Carl the intern with his
Ultimate-Evil-Inator ray, Carl takes over the OWCA (Organization Without
a Cool Acronym) and imprisons Doof and Monogram. Agent P steps in but
gets zapped with one of Doof’s many rays and in the cliffhanger of all
cliffhangers, disappears. The mystery of Perry’s whereabouts will be
continued in August. The voice cast includes Vincent Martella, Thomas
Sangster, Ashley Tisdale, Mitchel Musso, Caroline Rhea, Richard O’Brien,
Dee Bradley Baker and Alyson Stoner. Created and executive-produced by
Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, the series is a production of
Disney Television Animation. For three years running, the Emmy-winning
“Phineas and Ferb” has ranked as the #1 animated series among Tweens and
the Disney Channel Original Movie it inspired, “Phineas and Ferb:
Across the 2nd Dimension,” was TV’s #1 scripted telecast among Kids 6-11
(4.7 million) and Tweens 9-14 (3.6 million) and cable’s #1 scripted
telecast in Total Viewers (10.7 million) for 2011.

“SHAKE IT UP: MADE IN JAPAN” — A 90-minute song and
dance-filled event, set to premiere in August, follows best friends
Rocky and CeCe as they travel to Tokyo to star in an interactive dance
video game. While there, Rocky plans to explore Japan, but CeCe wants to
seize the chance to become global dance superstars, their longtime
dream. Meanwhile, there’s a Mission Impossible-style race against time
to save the world from The Rocky and Cece computer virus. The Blue Man
Group guest stars. Starring are Bella Thorne, Zendaya, Adam Irigoyen,
Davis Cleveland, Kenton Duty, Roshon Fegan, Caroline Sunshine and R.
Brandon Johnson. The series is executive-produced by Rob Lotterstein and
Jeff Strauss and is a production of It’s a Laugh Productions, Inc.